$3,160 found at Mukilteo dock; ferry worker returns it

MUKILTEO — An alert Washington State Ferries worker quietly did a good deed earlier this month.

The worker found $3,160 in cash scattered on the ground at the Mukilteo dock.

The woman spotted the money and a nearby envelope of bills just as the ferry workers were beginning to load the vessel, agency spokeswoman Marta Coursey said. The woman turned the money in to her supervisor, who called police.

Soon after, Mukilteo officers were able to return the money to its rightful owner, a 65-year-old Clinton man. They aren’t sure why the man was carrying that much cash, department spokesman Colt Davis said Monday.

“All he said was he lost money in a bag while waiting to board the ferry,” Davis said. “He didn’t notice it until he got home.”

The money was in large bills and was found in one of the ferry holding lanes at about 2 p.m. on Aug. 19.

The ferry worker’s written statement to police was brief: “Found scattered cash.”

Reports of found money are less common than cases of lost money, Davis said.

“It does happen,” he said. “There’s some good people out there who turn money in, and it gets back to the citizens who it belongs, too.”